Two glasses, something different in each. [Photo: Maggie Hoffman]

I'm generally not a make-huge-plans-on-Valentine's Day kind of girl; given the waits and the crowds and the God-awful fixed price menus with molten chocolate cakes for dessert, I'd just as soon stay home with my man-friend and a bottle or two of Pinot.

But when the other editors asked me to dream up a 5-course progressive dinner—drinks, appetizers, entrees, dessert, and drinks, all at different venues—well, I started to come around. There's an awful lot of excellent food in this city, after all. So come along on my dream Valentine's Day date.